OOT, help me make my girlfriend dinner
 

short story short: girlfriend is coming home from semester at sea (summer session). havent seen her in 2 months, so pretty pumped to see her again, would like to make her a nice sitdown dinner.

my apartment has a full kitchen, oven, toaster, microwave, stove-top. i have some utensils, mostly the basic stuff (pots, pans, drainer, measuring spoons/cups).

but my problem is that im not a good cook. i mean, the stuff that i know how to make, i make well. but its usually the really basic stuff like eggs or grilled cheeses. i want to give the girlfriend a really nice dinner.

what do you recommend? what are things that i could easily get at the grocery store, prepare and serve without too much chance of screwing up? i figure i could do a salad easily but what should i do for the rest of the meal?

thanks in advance.

Re: OOT, help me make my girlfriend dinner
 

mule,

might help if you gave some broad categories: beef,poultry,fish,pasta.....etc

And perhaps the level of "gourmet" you are looking to achieve

Cooking is really rather simple, provide you have access to a quality recipe, and can read [img]/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img]

Oh, and a list of no-nos...... allergic to peanuts, wheat, shellfish, etc...

Good luck,

mondo

Re: OOT, help me make my girlfriend dinner
 

Mule,

Women love salmon so I'd suggest a dijoun mustard salmon dish with mushroom caps and a salad on the side. The recipe is below, and your in luck cause its very precise! Gluck with whatever you choose.

Baked Salmon

For four people

- 4 salmon fillets
- 2 heaping teaspoons grey poupon mustard
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons oil
- 1 teaspoon lemon pepper

1. Defrost the salmon
- Keep in the fridge over night or defrost it through the microwave

2. Preparing the breading
- Mix the ingrediants in a shallow containe.

3. Seasoning the salmon
- Dip each side of the salmon into the container with ingrediants.
- Lay the salmon on a flat baking sheet.
- When done with all salmon, pour the remaining marinate on top of the salmon.

4. Baking the Salmon
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees
- Cook 8 to 10 minutes on each side (bake half the time, broil half the time) (closer to 10).

Stuffed Mushroom Caps

Serves 4 people (5 to 6 mushrooms each)

Ingrediants
20-25 mushrooms
3 tablespoons breadcrumbs
3 tablespoons parmesan cheese
1 tablespoon oil
1 tablespoon wischester sauce
2 cloves crushed garlic

1. Cleaning the mushrooms
- Wipe of the mushrooms with a damp towel (maybe 3 to 4 mushrooms per towel) (should peel off brown mess i.e. sand)
- With your hand, break off the stem (can save for another use)

2. Preparing the seasonings
- In a bowl, mix the wischester sauce, crushed garlic, and oil.
In a seperate mix the bread crumbs and parmesan cheese thoroughly (in addition, can add variations to this mix such as bacon bits, sausage, etc.)

3. Seasoning the mushroom caps
- Brush the mushroom caps with the oil mixture and place on a cookie sheet (put foil on the cookie sheet to assist the clean up process).
- Fill each brushed mushroom cap with the bread crumb stuffing

4. Baking the mushrooms
- Preheat overn to 350 degrees
- Cook for 15 minutes

Re: OOT, help me make my girlfriend dinner
 

good point mondo, thanks.

a. chicken or beef i would assume. probably chicken (seems harder to screw up).

b. not gourmet, but something nice, a home-cooked meal.

c. no no-nos (does that make sense?) anything goes as far as food. no allergies.

Re: OOT, help me make my girlfriend dinner
 

Is she any good at cooking? In other words, how well does she usually eat?

-McGee

Re: OOT, help me make my girlfriend dinner
 

Broil or grill some steaks and make some mashed potatoes and a romaine salad with other veggies in it.

Re: OOT, help me make my girlfriend dinner
 

she doesnt eat like a queen, but a steak or some form of chicken would be on par. i was wondering about steak, though. since i'm used to eating steak made on the outside grill, what is broiled steak like? similar?

Re: OOT, help me make my girlfriend dinner
 

I have a simple fallback plan I go to in situations like this. Entire meal takes about 15 minutes to cook, its presentability is very impressive, taste is terrific.

Go buy 2 Rib Eyes, boneless or bone in doesn't really matter. Salt and Pepper both sides, add some other seasoning of choice if you feel like it. Preheat the oven on broil, put the rack on the highest shelf possible. Brown the steaks in a pan w/ olive oil for 20 seconds on each side, place them on a baking sheet w/ aluminum foil, put in oven and wait 7-8 minutes for a medium rare steak. It's not quite as good as grilling them, but still damned good. Steam up some asparagus, broccoli, or spinach or some combination thereof while preparing the steaks and you're good to go.

Don't slave for a long time on some very involved recipe that's likely to turn out mediocre.

Re: OOT, help me make my girlfriend dinner
 

[ QUOTE ]
I have a simple fallback plan I go to in situations like this. Entire meal takes about 15 minutes to cook, its presentability is very impressive, taste is terrific.

[/ QUOTE ]

this is the exact type of feedback i want. what are your easy-to-make go-to meals, OOT?

[ QUOTE ]
Don't slave for a long time on some very involved recipe that's likely to turn out mediocre.

[/ QUOTE ]

hit the nail on the head, i want to make something easy, tasty that is hard to screw up [img]/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]

Re: OOT, help me make my girlfriend dinner
 

My quick and good dinner takes a grill but I really like it. Marinated grilled shrimp.

30 or so medium sized shrimp, peeled and deveined. You should be able to get these at your market.
Skewers, metal is easiest.

1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup lemon juice
2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons crushed basil
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
3 minced cloves of garlic

Combine the mixture, add shrimp about 2 hours before you grill, put the shrimp on skewers and cook until pink. It will only take a few minutes on a hot grill.

Add some sort of salad, a vegetable you both like, and maybe some baked potatoes.